N.P. v Standard Innovation Corp – We-Vibe® Settlement

﻿United States District Court-Northern District of Illinois-Eastern Div. Case No. 1:16-cv-8655

UPDATE: The Final Approval Hearing was held on August 15, 2017, and the Settlement was approved. Per the terms of the Settlement Agreement we anticipate settlement checks to be issued around the end of October 2017. We appreciate your patience.

If you purchased a Bluetooth enabled We-Vibe® brand product or downloaded the We-Connect™ application, you may be entitled to a payment from a class action settlement.

A Settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Standard Innovation® Corp., a Canadian company. The suit claims Standard Innovation violated state and federal laws by failing to disclose that its Bluetooth enabled vibrators collected and recorded certain personal information from consumers. Standard Innovation denies any wrongdoing and maintains that its data collection practices comply with the law.

Two groups or “classes” of people are included in the Settlement and may be entitled to a cash payment. The first group is called the Purchaser Class and includes anyone in the United States that bought a Bluetooth-enabled We-Vibe® brand product before September 26, 2016. The second group is called the App Class and includes anyone in the United States that downloaded the We-Connect™ application and used it to control a We-Vibe® brand product before September 26, 2016.

Defendant created a settlement fund for each class. These funds will be used to pay all costs and fees, as well as to pay valid claims. The fund for the Purchaser Class is $1 million Canadian dollars (about $750,000 US dollars based on the present exchange rates). Those in the Purchaser Class who submit valid claims will be eligible to receive an equal share of this fund up to $199 US dollars. The fund for the App Class is $4 million Canadian dollars (about $3,000,000 US dollars based on the present exchange rates). Those in the App Class who submit valid claims will be eligible to receive an equal share of this fund up to about $10,000 US dollars. The amount ultimately recoverable depends on the number of claims filed, the cost of notice, and the amount awarded for costs, fees, and an incentive award to Plaintiffs. Standard Innovation has also agreed to more clearly disclose its data collection practices and to destroy certain data it has collected.

The proposed Settlement provides for payments to each eligible Class Member submitting a valid Claim Form by July 20, 2017.

Submit a Claim: The only way to receive a payment under the Settlement is to submit a valid Claim Form on or before 07/20/2017. The Claim Form can be found on the site under “Submit Claim” or in the “Important Documents”.

Exclude Yourself: You have the right to ask to be excluded from the Settlement. If you do so, you will receive no payment, but you will retain any rights you have to sue Standard Innovation Corp. about the issues in this case.

Object: You have the right to tell the Court if you have an objection to the Settlement. You can do this only if you don’t exclude yourself.

Attend A Hearing: You have the right to ask to speak in Court about the fairness of the Settlement. You can do this only if you don’t exclude yourself and if you submit a written objection to the Settlement with the Court before the date of the hearing regarding final approval of the Settlement.

Do Nothing: If you do nothing, you will receive no payment and will give up your rights to sue the Defendant with respect to the issues raised in this case.

These rights and options, and the deadlines to exercise them are explained in the Notice.

Your legal rights are affected whether you act or do not act. Please read the Notice carefully.

This website is authorized by the Court, supervised by counsel and controlled by Heffler Claims Group, the Settlement Administrator approved by the Court. This is the only authorized website for this case.

Important Dates

Exclusion Deadline

Thursday, June 29, 2017
You must complete and mail your request for exclusion form so that it is postmarked no later than Thursday, June 29, 2017.

Objection Deadline

Thursday, June 29, 2017
You must mail your objection(s) and/or notice of intent to appear at the Final Approval Hearing so that it/they are postmarked no later than Thursday, June 29, 2017.

Claim Form Deadline

Thursday, July 20, 2017
You must submit your Claim Form on-line no later than Thursday, July 20,
2017, or mail your completed paper Claim Form so that it is postmarked
no later than Thursday, July 20, 2017.

Final Approval Hearing Date

Tuesday, August 15, 2017
The Final Approval Hearing is currently scheduled for Monday, August 15, 2017. Please check this website for updates.